The Caged Bird
by Wickedfyre
Summary: Never free to live her own life, Mitsuki finds herself trapped in a marriage arranged by her stepfather to Kyoya Otori. Will he be as cold and cruel to her as the other male role models in her life, or will he release her from her cage and show her what it means to be truly loved by someone for the first time? Rated M for language
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I walked into my bedroom and paused at the sight that greeted me. There was open luggage on my bed, and two of my maids were packing my clothes into them.

"Excuse me, what is going on?" I asked.

Nadia, my personal maid, looked up from my suitcase and smiled at me. "We're going on a trip to America. Your father wants to see you in his office."

_Step_father, I thought. That man was not my real father. I didn't care if he did raise me, I didn't like him.

I put my book down on my dresser and walked to the west side of the house where my stepfather's office was located. The door was open, so I stood quietly in the doorway until I was acknowledged.

"Mitsuki, come in and have a seat," he said.

I did what he said, and smoothed my skirt over my thighs, sitting up straight. "You wanted to see me, Sir?"

"There comes a time, Mitsuki, when every bird must leave the nest. You are twenty-one now, and I believe this time has come for you."

I was nineteen.

"Sir? You want me to move out?"

Where did I sign?

"Not just yet. I have arranged what I think will be a suitable match for you and one that I think will help this family greatly. The head of the Otori family has taken an interest in you, and has contacted me about marrying you to his youngest son who is in Boston at the moment, finishing his final year of college. I am sending you to America this evening to meet him."

I was confused. Our family created weapons technology. I didn't see how marrying into the Otori family would benefit us. They were clients of ours, so I could see the benefit for them, though. We had more money and power than they did, but our businesses were unrelated. However, I knew better than to ask questions.

"Yes, Sir," I said.

"You will make a good impression, Mitsuki. Use those charming looks of yours to our advantage for a change. This is something both sides want, so I am counting on you to make him think favorably of you. If things go well, the two of you will marry after he graduates in May."

"Yes, Sir. Is that all?"

"Yes, you may go," he said. "Here is a file on everything you need to know about him."

He handed me the file, and I got up and left.

I walked back to my room and tossed the file on the bed.

"Did he tell you what this was about?" Nadia asked.

"It's a marriage meeting," I said. "He wants me yo marry the youngest son of the Otori family, Kyoya."

"Do you know him?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No, I've never met him. I have met his father and two older brothers, but he has been studying abroad for six and a half years. He went in his final year of high school, and I guess he liked it enough that he stayed there for college. He is six years older than me, so I never met him in school, either, though I understand he helped start the Host Club. People still talk about the founding members." I opened the file and looked at it. "Yes, he just turned twenty four a little more than two months ago. He is graduating with honors from the MBA program at Harvard. No doubt he is the snooty over-privileged type like my stepfather. He is good looking too, so he most likely has an ego the size of China."

Yes, I knew that I was also among the top 1%, but I didn't flaunt it, and I enjoyed doing things that a normal teenage girl enjoyed. I was also good looking, but I didn't think it made me special like most people did. They were just looks, and they wouldn't last forever.

My obvious half-blood looks had been a thorn in my stepfather's side for as long as he had been married to my mother. I looked Japanese for the most part, though my hip length hair was white-blonde and my almond-shaped eyes were sapphire blue. I looked like my real father, except I was 5'1, and he had been over 6 feet.

My stepfather loved my mother, and for that I gave him credit, but he had made it clear to me from a young age that I was merely accepted as a part of my mother's past that he couldn't get rid of. Perhaps that was what he was getting out of the deal.

"Have you already decided that you don't like him?" Nadia asked.

I smiled at her. "No, I will give him a chance, but it doesn't matter what I think of him. My stepfather has already decided that he wants me to marry him, so that is the end of it. I will do my duty."

Yes, I would do my duty, but I wouldn't go through some grand effort to please him, either. I would be exactly who I was, and he could take it or leave it.

My bags were packed a few hours later, and I was sitting on our family's jet.

"Nadia, I'm going to sleep. Please make sure I am awake two hours before we land in Boston," I said after we got into the air.

"Yes, Madam," she said.

I walked to the bedroom and stripped down to my tee shirt and panties to curl up in the bed. It was a ten hour flight to Boston, and it would be some time in the afternoon when we arrived. I didn't want to be jet-lagged the entire trip.

When Nadia woke me up, I showered and changed into a white cami, a light blue cashmere off the shoulder sweater, a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, black snow boots, and I left my hair down and pulled on a light blue cashmere knitted cap with two pom-poms on top that looked like ears, and a matching scarf.

I took my seat, and looked out the window as we approached Boston. As I expected, there was a few feet of snow on the ground. It wasn't snowing at the time, but it was supposed to snow again that evening. I loved watching the snow fall.

We landed, and there was a car already waiting for us.

While we rode to the hotel, I looked out the window and took in as much of the city as I could. It looked to be a historical city with a modern city built on top of it. I knew that a great deal of American history took place there, but I wasn't completely familiar with the stories.

We pulled up in front of the Rio Grand Hotel, and I was surprised that it looked exactly the same as the ones in Tokyo and New York.

"Don't the Suohs have better imagination than this?" I asked myself as I stepped into the lobby. "Surely they would tire of the same surroundings at every single hotel."

"I don't know, Madam," Nadia said. "Shall I get you checked in?"

"Yes, thank you, Nadia, and please have some tea brought to my room as well."

"Yes, Madam," she said and walked away.

"I understand that the idea of having all of the hotels the same is so that traveling businessmen who stay here often feel as though they are home, no matter what city they are in."

I looked over at the man sitting in a nearby chair and smiled at him. He appeared to be one of those businessmen in question. "Does it work?"

"I certainly think so."

"What kind of business are you in?" I asked and walked towards him.

"Personal security."

He pulled out a card and handed it to me.

"Mr. Tachibana," I said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

I gave him my own card.

"The pleasure is mine, Miss Koizumi. Are you in town for business as well?"

I nodded. "Yes, I believe that is what you can call it, but I hope to get a little pleasure in as well. I understand that now is the time for ice skating in this city."

"Madam, your room is ready," Nadia said.

"I wouldn't know anything about that, but I hope you are able to enjoy yourself while you are here," Mr. Tachibana said.

"Good luck in your business, Sir," I said and gave him another smile as I followed Nadia to the elevators.

"I don't think you should do that," she said.

"I like meeting new people," I told her. "He knew a bit of history about the hotel. It was interesting."

She sighed and shook her head. "Your father is going to fire me when you get friendly with a kidnapper."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please, Nadia. Let's not pretend that I never see the three gorillas following me around everywhere I go. Come on, let's have some tea, and then I want to go outside."

"You are meeting Mr. Otori in an hour," she said.

I frowned. "Already?"

She nodded. "Yes, we are working around his school schedule. He is very busy right now. We are to meet him in the hotel lounge."

The elevator was taking forever and we were joined by another gentleman, who I smiled at as well.

"Why are we working around everyone's schedule but mine? I didn't even hear about any of this until three hours before we left," I said quietly.

"I wasn't aware that you had a schedule, Madam. As you said, you didn't even know we were coming."

I blushed. "I could have had other plans, you know, and what if I had a boyfriend? Shouldn't I be given time to break his heart?"

She laughed and quickly covered her mouth.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What's funny? I could have a boyfriend."

"Yes, Madam," she said, still covering her mouth.

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped in. She it the button for the top floor, and the man behind us hit the button for the floor below it.

"I could," I said.

"It isn't that I don't think you could, but I think if you did, you would have put up a fight about this. It wouldn't matter that doing this gets you out from under your father's control. I just think that if your heart was already attached to someone else, you would run away if you had to. It's a weak argument."

This was why I loved Nadia. She wasn't afraid to be straight with me, and in turn, I could tell her what was on my mind.

"I'm afraid in this case, I am only exchanging six for a half dozen."

"Madam?"

"It's an old expression which means that you can call the two things whatever you want, but they are essentially the same thing. I think if I marry this guy, I won't be much better off."

"That isn't true. Husbands only want children. Fathers want much more."

"What about what wives and daughters want?" I asked.

"What is that?"

"Love, Nadia. Love and affection from someone who cares if we step outside and get hit by a car."

"Your father cares, Madam," she said.

I scoffed. "Yes, I'm sure my father cared a whole lot before he died. My _step_father on the other hand has merely tolerated me until he found a use for me."

The elevator doors opened and the man stepped out.

"You don't really believe that," she said.

I frowned at her. "Yes, I do."

We stepped onto our floor, and I entered my suite, where all of my luggage had already been placed. At least now I knew what took the elevator so long. I took my hat and scarf off, and tossed them onto a nearby chair as I walked to the window and opened the curtains.

It had started snowing again already, so I left the curtains open. As far as weather went, I loved hot summer weather more, but nothing was more beautiful than the falling snow.

"Your tea is here, Madam," Nadia said.

She set up the tray next to the window for me and plated a few sandwiches.

As time to meet Kyoya crept closer, a knot started to form in my gut and my hands began to shake. In all honesty, I didn't want to do this. I was terrified that I was only committing myself to a life of more sadness and misery before I got a chance to actually enjoy myself.

Maybe he wouldn't like me. Maybe a half-blood wouldn't be good enough for him. Maybe I wouldn't be pretty enough or sophisticated enough.

"It's time to go, Madam," Nadia said.

I licked my lips and nodded.

I walked to the elevator, and when it opened, the same man from earlier was in it. I thought it was a little strange, but I didn't have time for him right now. I braced myself against the railings in the corner and tried to breathe.

"Mitsuki, are you okay?" Nadia whispered. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," I breathed. "I'm just a little nervous."

I tried to breathe out my nervousness and fear before the elevator door opened, but I was unable. The doors dinged, and instead of going for the lounge, I headed towards the door.

"Madam?" Nadia called.

I held up my hand to tell her to stay, and kept walking. I walked around to the side of the hotel and leaned against the building. I just needed to catch my breath.

"Isn't it a little chilly to be catching some fresh air?"

I looked over and saw Mr. Tachibana walking towards me.

I smiled at him. "I didn't really notice. I just needed some fresh air."

He took off his jacket and placed it over my shoulders. "Is something wrong?"

I shook my head. "No, not really. I'm just calming my nerves, that's all. I have a meeting in a few minutes."

"You look scared."

I laughed. "I'm terrified, Mr. Tachibana; I'm terrified."

I paced a little, and took another deep breath.

"Please allow me to escort you back inside," he said.

I nodded. "Thank you." He offered me his arm, and led me back into the hotel lobby. I took his jacket off and handed it back to him. "You are very kind."

He smiled at me. "I wish you the best of luck, young Miss."

I ran my fingers through my hair and straightened my shoulders. I walked towards the lounge and spotted Kyoya sitting at a table near the window.

"I was wondering if you were going to show up," he said when I approached the table.

I bowed and lowered my head. "My deepest apologies for making you wait," I said.

"Please sit down."

I sat across from him, and he poured me a cup of tea.

"Tell me about yourself, Mitsuki," he said.

I blushed. What was I supposed to tell him? Did he really care about my hobbies? "I graduated at the top of my class from Ouran last spring. I was on the swim team and helped them go-"

"No, you misunderstood. I know all of that stuff. Tell me about the you that isn't on paper. What are your hobbies? What makes you happy?"

My mouth opened. No one had ever asked me that before. "I enjoy a wide variety of things from knitting to video games."

He smiled. "You knit?"

I nodded. "Yes, in fact I knitted myself this sweater. I saw something similar in a store, but they didn't have it in a color I liked, so I made it myself. What about you? What do you like to do for fun?"

"I like to paint," he said.

I smiled. "Really? That's interesting. I draw. What do you like to paint?"

"Landscapes, but I think that is because I haven't found a model to sit still long enough for me. I would like to try painting a person. What do you draw?"

"People mostly, but I always give them a fantasy twist of some sort like wings or a tail."

"What would you give me if you drew my picture?"

I looked at him closely. "You have very pretty eyes and a nice bone structure. I would probably accentuate that with pointed ears and long hair pulled back in a ponytail like an elf. I would also draw you without your glasses. So, why did you decide to get an MBA when the rest of the men in your family are doctors."

"It was because the rest of them are doctors," he said. "I felt I would be more useful as a business expert than as yet another doctor. It is something I am talented at."

I nodded. That made sense. "Are you glad that you are almost finished with school?"

"Quite. I saw that you did not enroll in the university. Is there a particular reason for that?"

"My stepfather felt that it was not necessary. He decided that my time would be better spent learning how to become a proper wife."

He leaned forward. "What did you learn?"

I blushed again. Most of the stuff my mother told me had to do with making babies and pregnancy. "How to run a household and support my husband," I said. "I took cooking lessons, learned how to manage household staff; things of that nature."

"I have a sister who entered into an arranged marriage," he said. "I know you are nervous right now, Mitsuki. You are afraid of the unknown and that is effecting your true personality. I can assure you that if we get married, I will not beat you or verbally abuse you under any circumstances."

"Is she happy?" I asked.

"Sometimes I think she is a little too happy, but yes, she and her husband developed strong feelings for each other over time. Do you not know anyone who entered into an arranged marriage?"

"My mother married my father and my stepfather out of love, and my stepbrothers entered into arranged marriages, but I don't really know their wives. My friends who had arranged marriages were betrothed as children and grew up with their fiances. They were either good friends or a couple in high school."

He nodded. "Yes, it is more difficult when it is a stranger, but I hope that we can get to know each other better while you are here."

"I would like that too," I said.

"I would be happy to show you around the city. Is there anything in particular that you would like to see?"

"Is there an outdoor ice skating rink around here?"

"Yes, there are a couple of them. You would like to go ice skating?"

I nodded. "Yes, I would, if that is okay with you. If not, I can go alone."

"I do not know how to ice skate. Do you think you could teach me?"

"Yes, of course I could," I said.

He stood up. "Shall we go?"

"Let me go up to my room and get my ice skates and my coat."

"No need," he said. He snapped his fingers and Mr. Tachibana approached. "Tachibana, please have Ms. Koizumi's maid go and fetch her ice skates and her coat from her room."

"Yes, Sir," Tachibana said.

I blushed and suddenly felt foolish. Of course I was being watched. I was watched everywhere else I went, why not here as well? I shouldn't have been surprised that he would have men here keeping an eye on me and making sure I didn't run. They were probably observing me to see how I acted when I thought no one was watching.

Kyoya smiled at me. "Do you often speak to strange men in hotel lobbies?"

"Yes," I said, embarrassed. "It's just that I like to meet new people, and business men who travel often usually have interesting stories to tell."

"If you like stories, perhaps I can entertain you. For now, let us go ice skating."

I smiled and gave a nod.

Nadia brought me my coat, hat, scarf, cloves, and ice skates, and Kyoya walked me to his car where Tachibana was waiting with the door open.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Get behind me and put your hands on my hips," I giggled as Kyoya started to slip again. "Push and glide your feet along with mine."

"Are you making fun of me?" He asked.

I laughed and shook my head. "No, I'm trying to help you. Just keep your feet lined up with mine."

We skated around the rink for a while until he decided that he wanted a break. I took him to the entrance and let him go warm up. The snow was starting to fall a little harder, so I wanted to get in as much skating as I could before I was told to go inside.

I had taken lessons from an Olympic medalist, so I knew a few tricks that I could play with. I love jumping and spinning on the ice and wondered if this was what it felt like to fly, because it made me feel like a bird freed from her cage.

"Miss Koizumi," Tachibana called.

I stopped and saw him waving me over, so I went to where he was waiting at the edge of the rink.

"Yes, Tachibana?" I asked.

"Miss, there is a blizzard coming in. We have to go."

"A blizzard?"

"Yes, Ma'am. We must get you back to your hotel before it hits."

I nodded, and he helped me to the bench where Kyoya was sitting near our things. I took my skates off, and changed into my boots.

"Drink this. It will warm you up," Kyoya said.

He handed me a cup of hot chocolate, and I sipped it while we walked to the car.

"Did you have fun?" I asked.

"I did," he said. "I always enjoy new experiences."

"Me too," I said.

I got hit with a strong gust of wind, and Kyoya wrapped his arm around me and pulled me against him.

"This is quickly getting worse," he said. "We should hurry."

We walked quickly to the car, and he did his best to stop me from getting knocked over by the wind. The snow was up to my knees and soaking through my jeans. We got to the car, and Tachibana got the heat going for us.

"Sir, I don't think we can make it back to the hotel," Tachibana said.

"The apartment?"

"Yes, Sir, but it will be slow."

"I apologize, Mitsuki, but you will have to ride out the storm at my apartment. It is much closer than the hotel."

"I have to call Nadia," I said.

I pulled my phone out of my purse and dialed Nadia's number.

"Miss, the news says we are about to get hit with a blizzard," she answered. "Where are you?"

"Nadia, we are stuck and can't make it back to the hotel. I am going with Mr. Otori to his apartment until the storm passes. I want you to stay there and try to keep warm. I will return as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Madam," she said.

I hung up the phone and tossed it back into my purse. This was just great. My stepfather shipped me off to America at the last minute and now I was stuck in a blizzard with a strange man and no reading material.

"You look angry," Kyoya said. "Is it that terrible being in my company?"

I shook my head. "No, I was just wishing I had a book to read."

We pulled up in front of an apartment building, and Tachibana let us out as close to the entrance as he could. Kyoya helped me into the building, and I tried to shake off as much snow as I could before we got to his door.

"I have some warm dry clothes inside that you can borrow," he said as he let me into his apartment.

I was surprised at how common his apartment was. Aside from the furniture, it looked kind of middle class. The furniture was a deep burgundy leather, and the tables were a dark cherry oak that matched the floors. The apartment itself was rather small, but cozy.

Kyoya lit a fire in the fireplace and brought me a change of clothes.

"They will be big on you, but at least they are dry," he said. "You are free to take a hot shower as well, if you need to."

I nodded, and he pointed me to the bathroom so that I could change.

When I got out of the bathroom, Kyoya had already changed as well, and made tea. I was a little embarrassed that I had to roll the pants from the top and the bottom so that I didn't step on them, and the hoodie he loaned me was swallowing me whole. I probably looked like a walking pile of laundry.

"Where is Tachibana?" I asked.

"He is next door in his own apartment. You seem to have taken a liking to him."

I smiled and gave a nod. "Yes, there is just something about him that I like. I think he is most probably a good person. I'm pretty good at getting a feel of people."

"Is that so? Then what is your feeling of me?"

I sat down next to him and gave him a close look. "I don't know. You are difficult to get a read on, but I think it might be the circumstances. Maybe you are a good person but my fear of what the future holds is making that hard to see. Or, you are a bad person and my fear is my gut warning me to stay away from you."

He smiled. "I see."

I licked my lips. "What is my stepfather getting out of this marriage? This whole thing seems a little one sided and I don't understand why he is pushing me to marry you."

"You are not his blood daughter and you are a half-blood. He has found it rather difficult to make an advantageous match for you. In exchange for uniting our families, my father also offered him a dowry of sorts."

My heart sank. I hated my stepfather so much. How could he? "He sold me?"

"Only if you choose to look at it that way. He is only trying to make sure you marry into a good family."

"Then what is the point of this meeting? Why didn't he just club me over the head and drag me down the aisle?"

"Because I wasn't completely sure I wanted to make this agreement, and I required a much closer look at you than just a flattering photo or two."

"And?"

"And the photos didn't do you any justice," he said.

"So you decided?"

"Yes, I have. I'm going to agree to marry you, Mitsuki. I think you would make a fine wife for me, and I hope that we will become friends in due time. Your bloodline doesn't bother me as long as your father is willing to treat the union as though you were his legitimate daughter. He has assured my father that he will do so."

And just like that I was reduced to a piece of meat. I felt like no one even thought of me as a human being with thoughts and feelings. Everyone around me just wanted to use me to their own best interests.

I nodded. "Thank you for telling me."

"You don't have to agree to it."

"Yes, I do. If I don't, I will probably be disowned, and like you said, who else would take me? I'm lucky that you are not an old man with one foot in the grave, and you don't seem to be a bad person." I gave him a big smile, even though I really just wanted to cry. "I hope we can be friends."

"I'm curious. If you had been allowed to go to Ouran University, what would you have studied?"

I shifted in my seat. "It might sound silly to you, but I would have studied History. I have always been fascinated with the subject, and I would have liked to be a school teacher. There was a part of me that hoped my stepfather would cast me out when I graduated, so that I could follow that dream."

He lifted his hand and touched my cheek with his fingers. "That doesn't sound silly to me. Teaching is an honorable career choice. Ultimately, the choice is yours. You can marry me, or you can run off and become a school teacher. No one can make that decision except for you."

I sighed. "I already thought about that. If I ran off and became a commoner, I would lose any and all contact with my mother. She is the only family I have left."

"You have me now too."

I smiled. "We aren't married yet, Kyoya. I believe I have until you graduate and return to Japan."

"What will you do?"

I blinked at him. Hadn't I just said? "I'll marry you."

His lips twitched. "No, what will you do when you get back to Japan with less than four months until you are married?"

"Oh. I hadn't thought about it. To be honest, probably nothing. I'm sure I will be put under a closer watch than usual to make sure I don't do anything that will ruin the deal for my stepfather. He knows that I can be-" I cleared my throat. "Anyway, he will want me kept nice and safe for you. Didn't you say that you had stories that would entertain me? I would like to hear one."

"Very well," he said, and poured me another cup of tea. "What kind of stories do you like?"

"Real ones. Tell me a personal story about something that really happened to you."

"Why don't I tell you about how my friends and I kept a female student disguised as a boy for two and a half years?"

I smiled. "Did you really?"

He nodded. "Yes, we had the entire school fooled. It is a very long story, though, so I will only be able to tell you some of it. The rest you will have to hear in parts."

"Okay," I said.

He launched into his tale, and I was riveted. I'd never heard something so funny and unbelievable that was also true before. The stories business men that I met in hotels told me were usually quite obviously embellished.

As he talked, I learned new things about him that gave me a positive feeling about my future. Kyoya seemed to be a self-serving man, but a kind one, and one with a sense of humor who liked to tease his friends in a more subtle way.

"You must have liked her a lot," I said. "The way you kept adding to her debt, even for things that weren't her fault."

He nodded. "Yes, Haruhi is very dear to me. I quickly became fond of her like a little sister. She is rude and overly blunt, but I came to like that about her."

"Are you still friends with her?"

"Well, to tell you that would ruin the story, wouldn't it?"

I smiled. "Yes, I suppose it would."

The power flickered and went off. There was a loud knock on a side door near the kitchen, and my phone started ringing. Kyoya handed me my purse and then went to answer the door.

"Hello, Nadia," I answered.

"Madam, the power just went out here, and they are saying it is a city-wide blackout. What should we do?"

"There isn't anything we can do about it. It isn't like we can go back home like this. I doubt they would clear the jet for takeoff. Jut stay in your hotel room and I will call you in the morning."

"Are you okay there?"

I looked over at Kyoya, who was talking to Tachibana, and smiled. "I think I am perfectly safe, Nadia. Don't worry about me."

"Oh, the power just came back on," she said.

I got up and looked out the window. Everything was still black.

"It's the hotel generators. Stay out of the elevators and don't try to go anywhere," I said. "Just stay in your room and watch television, Nadia."

"Yes, Madam," she said.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Stay safe, Madam," she said.

I hung up the phone and walked back to the couch.

"They have power at the hotel,?" Kyoya asked

"Yeah, the generators kicked in while we were on the phone. Too bad we weren't able to make it there before things got bad."

Tachibana dropped a blanket over my shoulders and started lighting candles. He threw another log on the fire, and walked back to his apartment.

"Wouldn't it be better if he stayed here with us?" I asked.

"He is only on the other side of the door. Do you not trust me enough to be alone with me?"

"No, it isn't that. It's just that more people produce more body heat."

He sat down on the couch and pulled me into his lap, and wrapped the blanket around us.

"I think we will be okay without him," he said.

I blushed and licked my lips. My heart skipped a few beats. I had never been this close to a boy before, or in this situation. Everything was so completely quite aside from the log popping in the fire.

I rested my head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Are you wishing you had come later in the year?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No, I was thinking that this is actually quite peaceful. I guess you don't notice how loud the world is until it stops moving. There is no traffic, no horns, background electrical devices like central heat and air, or even people walking down the street. It's just the wind and the fire," I whispered. "It feels as though the Earth is holding her breath."

"That is an interesting thought," he whispered back.

I lifted my head and looked him in the eyes. "Kyoya, I'm going to do my best as your wife. Not because my father is forcing my hand or because it is my duty, but because I like you. You seem like a kind person, and I want to make you happy."

He stroked my cheek. "In that case, Mitsuki, I will also do all I can to make you happy as well."

"My happiness isn't important," I whispered.

He lifted my chin. "It is to me. I am responsible for you, and I want to see that beautiful smile of yours as often as possible." He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to my forehead. "You belong to me now."

I giggled. "Not for another-"

His lips caught mine, and he kissed me hard. I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged his face closer to mine. His tongue slid inside of my mouth. He had a sweet and spicy taste to him that reminded me of cinnamon candy. His hands tightened on my waist, and then he released me.

"No, you are mine, and I will look out for you from now on," he said.

I nodded and rested my head back on his shoulder. "Okay," I whispered.

We talked about everyday nonsense and got to know each other better until I drifted off to sleep in his arms. I woke up briefly as he placed me in a soft bed, but quickly fell asleep again.

When I woke up the next morning, I was draped across his chest, and we were both clinging tightly to each other. The power still wasn't on, and the apartment was freezing. I reluctantly got out of bed and darted to the bathroom, hoping to complete my morning business as quickly as possible and return to the warm bed.

I almost kicked myself when I tried to wash my hands and was reminded by the ice water coming out of the faucet that there was no electricity to heat it up. I'd already soaped up my hands though, and had to suffer.

When I crawled back into bed, Kyoya immediately wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back against his body.

"Why are you so cold?" He asked.

"The power is still out. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't. The bed was just suddenly cold."

I rolled over to face him, and smiled. I liked him better without his glasses. He had such pretty eyes.

"Do you feel better now?"

He kissed me and slid his body on top of mine. "Yes," he hissed in my ear. "Do you want me to warm you up as well?"

I licked my lips and my heart sped up. The way he said it made me want to say yes.

"No, not like this. We aren't married yet."

He smiled and kissed me again. "You wanted to say yes. That's a good sign, Mitsuki."

I blushed, and he got off of me, but kept me pinned against him.

"Yes, I did, but engaged isn't good enough for something like that. What if something happens and our marriage is canceled?"

"What could happen?"

"You or my stepfather could change your minds. If he thought he could get a better deal from someone else, or you decided that I wasn't worth whatever you were getting. I'm not dumb. I know how men do business."

"I won't change my mind, but you are right about your father. I will respect your maidenhead, and wait until our wedding night to unwrap you. However, I want you to know that it is because you said no, and not because of any other reason. I want you, Mitsuki, and I don't really care about your virginity."

There was a way to ensure my father didn't change his mind.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

He stroked my cheek and nodded. "I'm sure."

I pulled him closer and kissed him. "Then make love to me, Kyoya, but remember that if you break it, you buy it."

He smiled and kissed me again as he moved his body on op of mine again. He pulled my hoodie off and kissed his way down my neck.

Kyoya's fingers trailed down my naked back, and my throat released a contented purr. His lips brushed tiny kisses over my flesh, and my eyes fluttered open.

"That was a lot more fun than I thought it would be," I said.

He laid his head on the pillow next to me so that I once again could see those eyes that had seemingly bore into my soul only moments ago. "Why did you change your mind?"

"I wanted to. You were right. I wanted to say yes, and for the first time in my life I made a decision based on what I wanted and nothing else. It was completely selfish and it felt amazing. I've never felt so elated in all of my life."

"Will you tell your father that I dishonored his daughter?"

I smiled. "If I have to. He wanted me to charm you. He never specified as to how I went about it."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I will remember that particular trick in the future."

"Ah, then perhaps I shouldn't show you any more of my tricks. You know what they say about magicians and secrets."

He leaned forward and kissed me. "I will discover them all eventually. I am rather good at that, you know. People can't keep things hidden from me for very long."

"You don't find that dull? I mean, if you know everything, what is there to learn? Life should be full of surprises, or else, what's the point?"

He grinned. "I don't know, I still manage to get surprised every once in a while."

"You didn't think I would do it."

"No, I didn't. I was expecting you to change your mind and tell me to stop before I crossed the point of no return. I'm glad you didn't, though."

I smiled. "So am I. Is this the part where I leave and wait for you to call me, but you never do?"

"It would be if you were anyone else. However, seeing as you are my future wife, I think that would make things rather awkward at the altar."

I sat up and wrapped the sheet around my front. "You really do that to girls? Don't you think that is cruel?"

"I never promise them more than I am willing to give. It is no fault of my own if they assume otherwise. A one night stand is only a one night stand unless otherwise specified. If she wants more than I am willing to give her, I let her know, and if she cannot take only what I am offering, I let her go. Do you pity the girls who have had me before you?"

"It isn't pity, really, it's more like shock. To be honest, I couldn't care less how many girls you have had sex with. I just thought that being a gentleman, you would have at least called them the next day to say thank you or something."

He laughed and kissed my hand. "Then shame on me. Please, allow me to thank you for the wonderful sex we had together this morning."

I blushed. "Okay, yeah, that was awkward."

"Have you considered that they are using me like I am using them?"

I shook my head. "No, I hadn't considered that."

"I can assure you that it is a give and take relationship. I give them the best night of their lives, and they take it."

"That was cocky of you. How do you know it was the best?"

He grinned. "I just do."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. I had nothing to compare it to, but I couldn't deny that it was pretty great.

He sat up and pulled me against his chest. "When you go back to Japan, I expect you to talk to me on Skype every morning."

"Morning for me or morning for you?"

"You."

"Is this because you are trying to keep track of me?"

"No, it's because we should get to know each other as well as possible before we get married and that is the most convenient time for us to talk."

Personally, I thought we had just gotten to know each other quite well.

I sighed. "Okay, but don't wake me up. I will send you a text message and let you know when I am ready to talk."

"Are you hungry?"

I nodded.

He got out of bed, and we both got dressed and went to the living room. He went into the kitchen, and I went to his bookshelf. I was curious about what his recreational reading material was like.

I was surprised that we had a lot of the same books, but there was one that really caught my attention.

_The Husband's Guide to a Perfect Marriage_.

I almost laughed out loud. I peeked over my shoulder and saw him still fussing around in the kitchen, so I flipped through the book. I expected it to be about keeping track of money and such, but it wasn't.

The book was actually about how to keep the wife happy with things like evenly sharing chores, lavishing her with affection, and picking your battles.

Did he think this would apply to our marriage?

"Find anything interesting?" He asked.

I slid the book back onto the shelf and smiled at him. "We have a similar library."

"I made some sandwiches. Come have a seat," he said.

It was late in the afternoon before the roads were clear enough for me to get back to the hotel. Since Kyoya still didn't have electricity, he decided to rent a room.

I went straight up to my own room to clean up and change into some fresh clothes.

As I was drying my hair, Nadia came into the room.

"Madam, your father wants you to call him."

I put the dryer down. "It's 3:30 in the morning there. When did he say this?"

"I talked to him this morning. He said that he tried to call your phone, but it went straight to voice mail. I explained the situation here and told him that your phone most likely had gone dead since you couldn't charge it."

"Did you tell him where I was?"

"Yes, Madam."

"Thank you, Nadia. I will call him later when it is a more appropriate time there."

"He said for you to call as soon as possible, whatever time it was."

I rolled my eyes and accepted the cellphone she offered. I hoped he knew that when I got married, I was no longer going to jump when he told me to.

"Mitsuki, I heard about the weather problems. I see you made it back to the hotel," he answered.

"Yes, Sir."

"How did things go?"

"He has agreed to the marriage," I said. It was all he cared about and all he needed to know.

"I see. Well, I am glad that you are well. However, I have made arrangements for you to come back to Japan. The weather there is only going to get worse, and if you stay, you will be stuck for a week. Have your maid pack your belongings and come home."

"Sir, Otori's bodyguard had to dig us out of the snow to make it here. I doubt that we will be able to find a car to drive us to the airport."

"It has already been taken care of. Do what I say, Mitsuki. Do not question me."

"Yes, Sir," I said.

He hung up and I threw the phone on the bed.

"Madam?"

"Pack our things, Nadia. We are going back to Japan," I said.

I flopped on the bed and scowled at the ceiling. If he was so concerned about the weather, he should have checked it before he sent me all the way here. I couldn't believe that he had made me take a ten hour flight only to turn around and go home again.

After my temper calmed down, I went to Kyoya's room and knocked on the door.

"Hey, come on in," Kyoya said when he answered.

"No, that's okay. I was just coming by to let you know that I am going home. My stepfather is worried about the weather, so he called me home."

"Oh, okay," he said. He leaned down and kissed me. "Call me when you get home."

I nodded. "I will."

I turned to go, but he grabbed my wrist, making me turn back towards him.

"Mitsuki, if you need anything, don't be afraid to call me."

I smiled at him, though I really wasn't sure what he meant. He was being very kind to me, and I appreciated it.

"Okay. I guess I will talk to you later."

When I returned to the room, Nadia had almost everything packed.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Sorry for the slight spoiler, but this chapter contains a horrific act of child abuse. If this is not something you can handle, please skip to the next chapter.**

**Chapter 3**

A week after I returned home, my stepfather called me into his office again.

"Mitsuki," he said when I sat down. "It turns out that things are not going to work out with the Otori family after all. There is another man I want you to meet instead. He is the heir to the Yamamoto family. He will be coming by for dinner on Friday evening to meet you."

I licked my lips and took a deep breath, bracing myself for the storm that was about to strike. "I'm terribly sorry, Sir, but I cannot do that."

He looked up from the papers at his desk and stared at me like I had grown a second head. "Excuse me? You will do as you are told, young lady. I worked very hard on this deal, and it is a much better union than with the Otori family."

I nervously clasped my hands in my lap and shook my head. "I cannot do that. You sent me to Boston to secure a match with Kyoya Otori. You told me to use my charms on him, and that is what I did. It is too late, Sir."

He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at me. "What do you mean it is too late?"

I braced myself. "I gave him my virginity."

He slammed his fist into his desk and stood up. "You what?" He shouted.

I didn't even flinch. This was the card I knew I might have to play. I liked Kyoya. I felt like we would become very good friends and he would treat me kindly and with fairness. I wasn't going to give that up only hoping that the next guy would be the same way.

"We were both under the impression that we were going to be married in only a few months' time," I said. "You told me to be agreeable, so I was."

He reached across his desk and backhanded me across the face so hard that I was thrown from my chair. He walked around his desk, knelt down next to me, and grabbed me roughly by the hair so that my face was turned towards him.

"I did not tell you to go out there and act like a whore! I told you to charm him, not seduce him!"

He stood up and stormed out of his office dragging me behind him by my hair. I tried to stand up, but he was walking too fast for me to get any kind of balance in my socked feet. I screamed and tried to pull away, but he tugged me harder as though I were a dog on a leash.

"Stop it," I screamed. "You're hurting me!"

I was terrified of what he was going to do. I had expected to be struck, but he had never hit me in my face before. This was a whole new situation.

"No! You want to act like a whore, I am going to treat you like one!"

He dragged me up the stairs to my bedroom and threw me on the bed. He took off his belt, and began to strike me with it. I tried to get away, but he just grabbed me and started hitting me all over again. He wasn't even trying to aim, and every blow fell in a different place. I tried to cover my face, but too many blows to the arm forced me to move my hands.

He finally stopped and stormed out of the room. I thought it was over, but he came back with a pair of scissors. I curled up in a ball, afraid that he was going to stab me with them, but he grabbed me by my hair again and jerked me up into a kneeling position. He started cutting my hair off, and I tried to push him away, but he held fast.

He threw my hair on the bed next to me, and stormed out of the room.

I tried to stand up and go to the bathroom, but I couldn't walk. My whole body hurt, and my legs were shaking too much. I tried crawling, but just ended up in the fetal position on my floor. I wasn't sure how long I laid there, crying and shaking, but when my mother walked into my room, that was how she found me.

"Get up," she said sternly. "You are leaving this house. You no longer live here."

I would have been happy at the news, but I couldn't even stand, and I wasn't completely sure I had anywhere to go.

"You're going to let him throw me out? Look what he did to me," I cried.

"You ungrateful child! You did this to yourself, Mitsuki. I did not raise you to act like some common whore who grew up in a brothel. You made your own choice, and now you can live with it. Get up, and let's go."

I tried to stand, but couldn't.

"Go on, take her out of my sight," she said.

Two of the security guards grabbed me by my arms and lifted me to my feet. I screamed in pain, but they dragged me down the stairs and out to a waiting car.

"Where are you taking me?" I screamed.

They didn't answer me, and that scared me more than anything else. I tried to fight them, but it didn't do any good. They just shoved me into the car and got in behind me. I was covered in blood, had no shoes, identification, money, or even a phone to call someone for help if they threw me in a gutter somewhere.

We pulled up in front of another estate. I was dragged from the car and tossed onto the ground in front of the door. One of the guards rang the bell.

"May I help you?" The butler asked when he opened the door.

"Master Koizumi sends his regards and hopes that your Master enjoys his gift," the guard answered.

They both turned and walked back to the car, and a few seconds later, I heard it pull away.

The butler looked down at me in shock. "Good Lord," he said. "Are you Miss Mitsuki?"

I didn't respond. I had no idea where I was or what else was about to happen to me. Instead, I started slowly trying to crawl away.

A young woman came running over from inside the house and knelt down next to me. "You poor thing," she said quietly. "Sato, take Mitsuki upstairs to my brother's room and put her in his bed. Then I need you to call my father and tell him to come home immediately. Tell him that she has been severely beaten and needs medical care."

He lifted me into his arms, and I freaked out. I still had no idea where I was, and I was terrified that I had just been sold to a brothel.

"Where am I?" I cried. "Please don't do this to me."

She reached out her hand, and I flinched back from her. "It's okay," she said. "You are at the Otori estate. I'm Yumi, Kyoya's older sister. No one is going to hurt you, I promise. Let Sato take you to Kyoya's room, and we will take care of you, okay?"

I relaxed a little and nodded.

I was carried upstairs and placed in the middle of a bed in a loft bedroom above a sitting room. Yumi sat down on the bed next to me and began to carefully pull my clothes off.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I am taking off your clothes so that I can clean your wounds while we wait for my father to get here to treat you. You are injured pretty badly, and he is going to need to see the extent of your wounds. Did your father do this?"

"He is my stepfather," I said quietly. "My father died in battle when my mother was pregnant with me. What is going to happen to me?"

She frowned. "What do you mean? Nothing is going to happen to you. You are going to live here until Kyoya returns from America, and then you and he will get married and move into your own house."

"Kyoya isn't going to want to marry me anymore," I said. "I was disowned. I am no longer of any use to him."

"That isn't true," she said.

A maid brought a bowl of water and a washcloth, and set them on the night stand next to the bed, and Yumi began to gently clean me up with warm water. It stung, but not nearly as bad as the lashes from the belt had.

"I'm so sorry," she said when I hissed and flinched away for at least the tenth time. "What did he beat you with? There are a lot of places where he has torn flesh from your body."

I didn't want to talk about it.

I turned my face away from her and looked at the far wall. I couldn't believe things had escalated this far. My mother's husband had never been this violent towards me before. Of course, I had never angered him like this before, either. I'd tried so hard to be the perfect girl my whole life, but somehow, none of it counted. Even my own mother had given me up after only one mistake.

No, it wasn't a mistake. I had done exactly what I wanted to do. It might have been a poor decision on my part, but it wasn't a mistake; because somehow, even after my punishment, I didn't regret it. I was glad I had done it. Even if the deal was broken and Kyoya didn't want me anymore, I had done something only for me. The bruises would heal.

"Akito?" Yumi asked, drawing my attention back to the here and now.

"Father sent me to take care of Miss Mitsuki. He said to tell you to go home and to remind you once again that you no longer live here."

"Shido is out of town, and I think Mitsuki might need a friend around here right now. The three of you might scare her. She needs a woman here to protect her."

"Go home, Fuyumi," he said.

"I will come check on you tomorrow," she whispered in my ear before she left.

Akito took the spot next to me that she had abandoned and gently looked me over.

"It looks much worse than it is," he said. "You might need stitches in a couple of places, but most of it is superficial."

I watched him warily as he applied ointment and bandages to my wounds. There were three places on my back that required stitches, but he numbed the areas first. I tried my best to stay as still and quiet as possible for him, and only moved when he told me to.

"I will write you a prescription for the pain and an antibiotic to fend of any infection since your wounds were open for so long. One of the servants will go out and pick them up for you. I want you to get plenty of rest and try to stay on your stomach so that you do not aggravate your stitches"

I nodded.

He covered me up with the sheet, and left the room.

A maid came in a few minutes later and placed a tray of tea next to the bed, but I didn't touch it. I also didn't touch my dinner that was brought up for me that evening.

I felt lost and scared. I had no idea what was going to happen to me now. I always thought that if I was disowned and thrown out, I would at least have my trust fund to fall back on so that I could go to school and become a teacher. I didn't have anything. At this point, I didn't even have clothes on my back.

I got up to go to the bathroom, but I was still a little wobbly on my feet. I had to brace myself on the furniture and the walls.

A maid appeared from nowhere and grabbed me gently to help me balance.

"Miss Mitsuki, where are you going?"

I blinked at her in surprise. "Where did you come from?"

"I was sitting in the corner over there watching you in case you woke up and needed anything. It was Master Otori's orders. Is there something you need?"

"I need to use the bathroom, and I would like to take a hot bath. Also, do you think it would be possible to find some clothes for me?"

"You aren't supposed to get your stitches or your bandages wet. Master Akito advised against clothing for you. He said that they would irritate your welts."

"So I am supposed to just stay naked?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, Miss," she said. "I can help you to the toilet, though."

I nodded, and she helped me into the bathroom.

She turned on the light, and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I was horrified at what I saw. The parts of me that weren't wrapped in a bandage were black and blue and swollen. I looked like I had been hit by a truck. I gasped and let out a small sob. Had this really been necessary?

I closed my eyes and turned my head. I didn't want to look at myself. I knew my stepfather hated me, but I couldn't believe that he had escalated things this badly.

The maid helped me back to bed after I finished in the bathroom and asked me if I needed anything else, but I declined and went back to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you so much to the people who have reviewed this story so far. They really make me smile and give me the motivation to keep posting the story as I finish the chapters. :)**

**Chapter 4**

I woke up to someone running their fingers through my hair. I had the feeling that it was Yumi, so I pretended to still be asleep. She had been nagging me for the last three days to eat, but I was too upset and didn't have an appetite.

"Her hair can be fixed as soon as she can put clothes on long enough for me to bring in a stylist, and it will grow back eventually," Akito whispered.

"I don't care about her hair," Kyoya whispered back. "Why wasn't I called home sooner?"

My heart skipped a few beats. When had he gotten there?

"You know that was Father's decision. To be honest, I don't think he would have called you at all if she hadn't been refusing to eat anything. He thinks you can help her more than we can. After all, she took this beating for you."

"No, she took this beating for herself. He was going to break the contract and give her to someone else."

"So, better the devil you know than the one you don't?"

"Yes, that is what I suspect."

"If you use her like you use everyone else in your life, she might have been better off with the other man."

I turned my head towards Kyoya and opened my eyes. "Why are you here?"

"You broke your promise. I came to find out why," he said.

Had he really flown out here just because I wasn't able to call him for a few days?

"I don't have my phone or my laptop," I said. "I'm sorry."

"Considering the circumstances, I think I can let this one go."

I let out a small laugh. "I appreciate that."

"How do you feel?" Akito asked.

"My muscles are stiff. Would it be okay if I took a bath today?"

He approached me and pulled the sheet down so that he could see my back. "Your stitches are starting to dissolve, so I think that would be okay. You have to eat something, though."

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"If you aren't hungry, you can drink some chicken broth," Kyoya said. "It will make the doctors happy. Will you at least have that?"

I shook my head.

"I will have someone run her a bath," Akito said.

He walked downstairs and Kyoya frowned at me.

"If you don't eat something soon, he might put a tube in."

"My stomach is in knots. I wouldn't be able to keep it down."

He laid down next to me and stroked my hair again. "Mitsuki, it's over with. Why are you still upset? He can't hurt you anymore."

I started crying and everything just poured out. "I'm scared. I don't know what is going to happen to me now. He disowned me, and my mother would barely look at me. What am I going to do? My money and all of my clothes are still there, and I can't go back to that house. I'm going to be homeless and won't even be able to find a job."

He hugged me against him. "You aren't homeless. You gave yourself to me and I promised to look out for you. We are still getting married, and I will deal with your family. Stop worrying about all of that other stuff, Mitsuki. If I can't get your things back, I will buy you new ones."

"Why would you do this? You don't have to marry me anymore. You have nothing to gain," I cried.

He sighed and kissed my temple. "I wouldn't say that. I gave you my word, and I never go back on my word. I might be able to fix things between our families if I go over there and talk to your stepfather myself."

I clung to him and shook my head. "Don't go over there. He might do this to you, too."

"I can assure you that he won't."

"Master Kyoya, Miss Mitsuki's bath is ready. Would you like me to help her?"

"No, I will take care of her myself. If I need anything, I will call for you."

She gave a nod and left the room.

He helped me get up and walk to the bathroom. He helped me into the bathtub and started taking his own clothes off.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm getting in the tub with you. I just had a long flight, and a hot bath will be good for me as well. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," I said.

He sat down in the tub behind me and situated me between his legs. I leaned my head back on his chest and closed my eyes.

"Did you really only come back here because I didn't call you for a few days?"

He wrapped his arms around my waist. "No, it wasn't because of that. My father called and told me what happened and asked me to come home. I knew your stepfather was no longer interested in a marriage between us, so I thought that you just agreed with him like you did the first time. Why didn't you?"

"I decided in Boston that I would marry you, and I stuck with my choice. I knew he would be angry when I told him, but I thought he would just change his mind again and agree to let me marry you after all. I guess I didn't really think things through very well."

"Has he ever hit you before?"

"Not like this. My mother always told me that I should just be grateful that he took me in and was raising me to be a lady. My father was a soldier for the U.S Marine Corps, and my mother was the daughter of a salary man. She said that without him I would be just a halfer commoner that no one would care about, and that being pretty would get me a job in a brothel at best. She told me to do everything that he told me to do and not ask questions, and that was what I did. I always tried to be perfect to make him happy. I kept my head down and my grades up. He seemed to always find excuses to hit me anyway, but it was usually with his hand and never in the face."

"Do you regret your choice?"

"No, I don't."

He held me tighter and kissed my cheek. "I'm sorry that you went through that, but I am happy that you are here."

My throat tightened. No one had ever said that to me before. I didn't know how to react to it.

"Thank you," I said.

"Is the bath helping you?"

I nodded.

We cleaned each other off, and he wrapped me in a towel and carried me back to the bed. He went downstairs, and when he came back he was wearing a pair of lounge pants, and he handed me a tee shirt.

"If it irritates your skin, you can take it off, but I think you would feel a little less vulnerable if you had some clothes on."

"Thank you," I said, and pulled the tee shirt on.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, and lifted my chin so that I had to look in his eyes. I had a growing fondness for those eyes. In the time that we had spent getting to know each other, his eyes seemed like the weak point in his armor. His words often sounded cold and hard, but his eyes showed warmth and kindness.

"I want you to eat something. Even if it is just a bowl of soup, you need to get something in your stomach."

I hesitated and tried to think of something that wouldn't completely suck if it came back up. "Can I have chicken broth to start with? If I can keep that down, I will try something else later."

He leaned over the balcony that led down to his sitting room. "Have the kitchen send up some chicken soup and some tea."

He got back into bed and curled up with me.

"How long are you staying?" I asked.

"As long as it takes to fix this and make sure that you aren't forced to go back to your parents' house. I have some friends that you can stay with until I graduate if you have to. I trust them to look after you and make sure that you do not come to any more harm. They will treat you kindly and you will be safe and happy with them."

"Who?" I asked.

He smiled. "I haven't decided yet. I considered Tamaki and Haruhi, but I think Tamaki would get on your nerves, and I am afraid that he might rub off on you. I like your shy and quiet nature. He might ruin you."

I laughed. "You don't wish for me to imitate your best friend's personality?"

"Not at all," he chuckled. "One idiot is more than enough."

He said that, but I could tell by the way he smiled when he talked about his friend that he really cared for him a great deal. He cared for all of them, and I was sure that they all cared for him as well. I was incredibly curious about them.

"I will do whatever you think is best," I said. "I trust you."

"Then will you trust me to bring someone over here to fix your hair?"

I nodded. "Yes, does it really bother you?"

"I don't mind the short hair, but they way it looks now makes it obvious that it was the result of a humiliation punishment. I only want it evened out and styled so that it looks like it was done on purpose."

"That is probably my fault. I tried to fight him off. If I had sat still, it might have been a clean cut."

"None of this was your fault. You didn't do anything to warrant this reaction." He blinked at me and then smiled. "You tried to fight back?"

I nodded. "I wasn't going to just sit there and take it, and when he first started cutting my hair I thought he was going to stab me with the scissors, so I tried to get away."

He closed his eyes and pulled me closer. It hurt a little, but I liked being in his arms. It made me feel safe and wanted.

"Am I hurting you?" He asked.

"Only a little, but please don't let go yet. I like this."

"I like this too," he whispered.

I tilted my head up and kissed him. I opened my eyes and looked straight into his. "Kyoya, make me forget, even if it is only temporary. I don't want to feel sad or alone anymore."

He pressed his lips to mine and I pushed on his shoulder to roll him onto his back so that I could get on top of him.

"Tell me where I can put my hands so that I don't hurt you," he said against my lips.

"My hips and under my arms."

He kissed me harder and slid his tongue inside of my mouth. I loved his taste, and I felt like I couldn't get enough of it. He sat up and rested his back against the headboard.

Someone cleared their throat, and we both looked towards the door. There was a tall, thin, guy with brown hair standing there who looked like he was Kyoya's age. He grinned at us and shook his head.

I blushed and tried to move, but Kyoya tightened his grip on my hips and held me still.

"Who let you up here, Hikaru?" Kyoya asked.

"I don't know, one of the maids said you were here. I didn't realize you had company though. Should I come back later?"

"No, actually I was going to call you anyway. I need your help. This is Mitsuki, my fiancee. It seems that she suffered a rather bad haircut, and I was hoping you could fix it."

Hikaru walked closer and looked at me. "It looks like she suffered from more than just a terrible hair stylist. You didn't-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," I said and narrowed my eyes at him.

He smirked at me and looked me in the eyes. "Kyoya, you didn't kill anyone over this yet did you?"

"Not yet," Kyoya said, but he was looking at me.

I wondered if I had upset him by thinking his friend would assume it was him that beat me up. I blushed and lowered my eyes. I shouldn't have said anything at all.

Hikaru walked over and ran his fingers through my hair. "I think I can fix this and make it look choppy on purpose. It isn't as bad as that mess of hair that Haruhi had when we first met her. Get her dressed and bring her downstairs."

He left, and I gave Kyoya an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry for snapping at your friend."

"Let me get you some pants. We will talk about it later," he said.

I moved so that he could get up.

After he brought me a pair of his lounge pants to wear, I followed him downstairs to the sitting room where Hikaru had set up a spot to cut my hair.

"Is this your normal face shape or are you swollen?" He asked.

"Her face is swollen," Kyoya said.

He pulled out his phone and handed it to him. "This is what she normally looks like."

I caught a glance at it and was surprised to see that I was his wallpaper. It was a picture that he had to have taken when we went ice skating. It was really sweet of him to have a reminder of me on his phone like that. I guess he really did like me too.

I smiled at him.

"You are a cutie," Hikaru said. "I can't believe someone chopped off all of that beautiful hair of yours. I hope you plan on growing it back out."

"I don't think I want it that long again," I said. "It was a lot to deal with. I might only grow it back down to my waist."

"Did your mother make you keep it long?" Kyoya asked.

I nodded.

Hikaru got to work on my hair, being careful not to brush against my face. A maid came in with the food, but Kyoya sent her back out with instructions to keep it warm until we were finished.

"Stop shifting," Hikaru said.

"I'm sorry," I said.

The shirt was starting to bother me. It felt like it was scratching my welts. Kyoya watched while Hikaru did what he could to fix things, but I was a little concerned by the growing pile of hair on the floor. I thought my hair was already short enough before he started cutting. I'd never gotten more than a trim before. It was a little concerning to see more hair on the floor than I thought I had in my head.

"I'm finished," he said and held up a mirror for me to look at myself.

I was impressed. My hair looked awesome. It looked like a punk-rock choppy bob cut that was long in the front and short in the back. He even gave me asymmetrical bangs.

"I love it," I said.

He smiled at me. "Really?"

I nodded and hugged him. "Thank you. It looks awesome!"

I winced and pulled away quickly. I shouldn't have done that.

"Is the shirt bothering you?" Kyoya asked.

I nodded.

"Go back upstairs and take your clothes off then. I will send someone up with some food in a few minutes."

"Thank you," I said to Hikaru again.

I walked past Kyoya to go upstairs, but he took my hand to stop me and gave me a kiss. I smiled at him and went upstairs.

I stripped naked and got back into bed, but I fell asleep before the food arrived.

When I woke up, I was wrapped around Kyoya. It was like I had been clinging to him for dear life. If it was because I had a bad dream, I didn't remember it. I looked at his sleeping figure and brushed his hair out of his eyes.

My breath hitched.

He looked so peaceful and more cute than handsome. I'd always thought he looked like sex on legs, but asleep he just looked like an angel.

I licked my lips, and my heart skipped a few beats.

Was I falling in love with him? It would be okay if that happened, wouldn't it? He was going to be my husband, after all. He had decided to stay with me when there was nothing in it for him except me. Didn't his misplaced loyalty deserve my love?

He made me feel stronger and happier than I had ever felt in my entire life. He never tried to make me do anything that I didn't want to, and I was pretty sure that if I wanted to cancel our engagement, he would let me go. But I didn't want to. I wanted to stay with him. I felt like there was a force around him that just pulled me in and made me want to be by his side forever.

We had only known each other for two weeks. Was this normal?

I got out of bed and took care of my morning business. As I came out of the bathroom, I noticed a stack of boxes in the sitting room.

Was that my laptop on his coffee table?

I tightened the towel around my body and walked downstairs. What was my stuff doing here? Everything was packed neatly and the boxes were clearly labeled. Everything I owned was here.

I glanced upstairs. Had Kyoya done this?

I smiled. Of course he had. The real question was _how_ he had done it.

I opened my luggage and pulled out a blue cami, some panties, and a pair of blue fleece lounge pants. It was nice to have clothes again. More importantly, the fact that my possessions were here meant that I really didn't have to go back to that house ever again.

"You are wearing clothes," Akito said. "Are your welts healed?"

I nodded. "Most of them seem to have gone down."

"Do you mind if I look?"

"Not at all," I said.

He walked over to me and lifted my shirt to look at my back and stomach. "The bruising is starting to fade and your stitches are almost dissolved. Are your muscles still stiff?"

"No, that bath really helped. I feel much better today. The bruises are still tender, but I feel more refreshed and energized than before."

"You are still swollen and I see a few welts, but I think that as long as you remove your clothing if it begins to irritate you, you should be fine. Have you eaten?"

"No, I fell asleep last night before I got a chance."

"Would you like to join me for breakfast? Kyoya usually sleeps in." He asked.

I nodded. "Yes, thank you."

I put my slippers on and followed him downstairs to the dining room. Dr. Otori was already at the table reading his newspaper. I hesitated a little, but if Akito invited me, that meant it was okay for me to be there.

"How is our patient this morning, Akito?" He asked.

"She is well enough to join us this morning, Father," Akito said.

He gestured to a chair next to Dr. Otori, and he took the seat across from me.

The maids brought the food in, and Dr. Otori folded his paper.

"How are you this morning, Mitsuki?"

I blushed and lowered my eyes. He was an intimidating person. "I am feeling much better, sir. Thank you very much for allowing me to recover in your home. I am terribly sorry for all of the trouble that I have caused."

"I am pleased that you are eating again. It will help you regain your strength sooner," he said. "The house should be ready by the time you are up to being on your own. I like your new hair cut. It is a decided improvement over the last one."

House? What house? When had he seen me after I came here?

"Thank you, sir."

I put a waffle and some fruit on my plate and ate slowly. This was the first time I had ever been with Dr. Otori in a setting like this. We usually conversed at fundraisers and hospital openings. I felt incredibly uncomfortable given the circumstances.

What did you say to someone after you put their son in a compromising position?

I sat there quietly and ate while they discussed business.

"May I be excused?" I asked after I finished.

"You may," Dr. Otori said. "You might feel better right now, but I want you to continue resting for at least a couple more days."

"Yes, sir," I said.

As I walked up the stairs to Kyoya's bedroom, his voice drifted down to me. I realized that he was on the phone, so I started back down the stairs to give him some privacy.

"She is becoming far more troublesome than I originally planned for," he said.

I paused. Was he talking about me?

"I think I can just keep pretending to be her smiling lap dog until after the wedding. As long as I keep her happy, this deal should go through. See if there is anything you can dig up on her that might help me if things get ugly. No, some things are just worth it, and I am getting quite a bit more than I planned with this arrangement."

I felt my heart shatter and didn't want to hear any more. I ran for the door and ducked outside the room, and into a guest room across the hall.

I curled up into a ball on the bed and started crying. How could I be so stupid? How could I have been so blind not to see that everything was an act? I thought that he had at least some feelings towards me. I had never been so wrong about anyone before.

I laid on the bed for what felt like hours before Kyoya opened the door. My tears had dried up a while ago, and I had reached a decision.

"Mitsuki? What are you doing in here?"

I sat up and looked at the floor so that I didn't have to look at him.

"I was just thinking and wanted some time alone," I said.

No matter his reasons or how he felt about me, Kyoya had protected me and taken me in when I needed it. The least I could do to thank him was go through with the marriage. After seeing my things in his sitting room, I should have realized that he was able to straighten things out between himself and my stepfather. Besides, it sounded like he was willing to stoop to blackmail to get what he wanted. I didn't want that to happen.

"What were you thinking about?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Everything. So much has happened recently, and I haven't had a chance to absorb all of it yet. I just needed the world to slow down for a few minutes."

He sat down next to me and gave me a hug. "I can understand that. Anyway, lets go back to the room. My father says you should be resting."

I allowed him to take my hand and lead me back to the room, but now I could feel the change between us. He didn't feel safe and warm anymore. He felt as cold and distant as he had the first time I met him. He was a stranger to me now, and I felt numb towards him.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Remember in episode 2 when Haruhi walked in high heels for the first time? The look on Kyoya's face in that scene is the one I imagined when I said 'he looked smug' in this chapter.**

**I know this was a faster than usual upload, but please don't get used to it..lol.. I got lucky on this one and didn't get stuck.**

**Chapter 5**

Two weeks had gone by. My bruises were almost completely gone. Kyoya had taken me to look at a house. To be honest, I didn't care where we lived. It didn't matter to me at all. Every house was one and the same to me. However, this one was going to be our home, so I had to pretend to be enthused.

We had discussed the idea of me moving in with one of his friends until he graduated, but I wasn't comfortable with that idea, and his father had made sure that this house was ready for me to move in to. It was a traditional Japanese-style estate with modern updates like central heat and air, modern bathrooms, and a top of the line security system.

"What do you think?" Kyoya asked as we walked through.

"I like it," I said. "Am I moving in before you go back to school?"

"Yes. I am leaving on Monday, and I want to have you settled in by then. There will be security here, and I am leaving Hotta in charge in case anything happens, but no one should bother you here except maybe Fuyumi."

I smiled. His sister and I had become very good friends. I liked her cheerful spirit, but their father always got onto her for being at the house after I was better. He complained that she no longer lived there and that she should be at home with her husband, but he was out of town a lot. I had the feeling that she was just lonely. I could understand that.

"I will do my best to keep her visits minimal," I lied.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You are a terrible liar, Mitsuki. I will not complain, though. I don't expect you to just sit here by yourself all the time. If you and Yumi want to visit with each other, that is okay with me."

"Thank you," I said.

He took my hand and looked in my eyes. "I want you to be happy," he said.

No, he wanted me to be happy for now, I reminded myself. He didn't really care either way as long as he got what he wanted in the end. Every time he started to pull at my heart again, I reminded myself of what he said on the phone that day. I knew he noticed the difference in how I reacted to him, but I was pretty sure that he thought it was just the stress that was getting to me.

He had managed to get my stepfather to 'reconcile' with me and renew the contract. I was no longer disowned, but I was not welcome in that house again. Not that I cared. I didn't want to go back there, but I knew that I was going to have to see both him and my mother again at our official engagement party and at our wedding.

It had been officially announced that Kyoya and I would be getting married. The media had worked up into a frenzy, and I hadn't dared step outside until I was able to cover every mark with clothing or makeup. It was decided that we would cover up what happened, though I wasn't exactly surprised about that. It wouldn't have been humiliating just for me, but for both of our families. I didn't care about mine, but the Otori family had been nothing but kind and generous towards me, and I would thank them by showing the public a respectable face and not pressing charges against my stepfather and shaming everyone involved.

I had seen my stepfather once when we signed the marriage contract. Kyoya had stayed by my side the entire time and kept himself between us while acting completely natural. It was the first time I had seen him blatantly fake a smile. It scared me that I couldn't tell the difference between when he was being nice for real and when he was faking, but it made me feel less stupid about not seeing his true feelings and intentions towards me.

"Mitsuki, please tell me what is going on with you," he said quietly. "I feel like I have been losing you over the last couple of weeks, and I don't know why. You told me that you liked it when I touched you and hugged you, but now you seem repulsed by me even just holding your hand. What have I done to turn your heart so cold towards me?"

I had the cold heart? Me?

I shook my head and turned towards the door. "I don't know what you mean. You are not losing me, Kyoya. I promise that I am still going to marry you. Shall we go have some lunch? Yumi told me about a-"

He grabbed me and turned me around so that I was facing him again. "You are a terrible liar. Please, Mitsuki. Tell me what is going on so that I can help."

I knew that it wouldn't do any good to be honest. I could only see two outcomes. He would either try to charm me or he would show his true colors. I wasn't sure which one I actually wanted. His charm was a lie and his true colors were scary.

I wished that I had never overheard that conversation. I wanted to keep going in blissful, stupid ignorance.

"I'm hungry," I said.

I could swear I smelled bacon and eggs cooking nearby, and it was making me hungry. It wasn't a lie, so he couldn't accuse me.

"We will go eat after you tell me what is wrong with you."

"PMS," I said.

Again, it wasn't a lie. In fact, I'd never had PMS this bad before. For the last two days, I'd been bloated and crampy. It was only adding fuel to the fire of anger I felt towards him.

He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. "Mitsuki, when you are ready to talk to me, I am here to listen to you. I know something is going on besides PMS. You have been like this for more than two weeks, and I know that something is broken between us. I just wish you would tell me what it is."

Something in my brain snapped. I couldn't take his false concern for me anymore. I was done. I wanted it out in the open. It was only fair wasn't it?

"Would you rather play fetch?" I asked coldly.

He pulled back and looked at me. "What?"

"Isn't that what happy little lap dogs do? They play fetch right? I could go and find a stick for you."

"Mitsuki, what are you talking about?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Tell me what you have on me. It's okay, Kyoya. I won't leave you, but you are right. Maybe it's time for both of us to be honest, because your fake sincerity is starting to make me nauseous."

His glasses gleamed so that I couldn't see his eyes, but his face went hard. "Is that how you really think of me? After everything I have done for you?"

"Give it a rest," I said. "You did what you thought you had to do to keep me happy so that you could have your precious deal with my stepfather. I heard everything. You won't need the blackmail, but I have to admit, you had me fooled for a while there."

I turned to go, but he grabbed me again.

"That day you were upset. You overheard my conversation with Tachibana. I wasn't talking about you, Mitsuki." He turned me around and pinned my back against a wall. "I wasn't talking about you! I was talking about your evil bitch of a mother!" A tear fell from under his glasses, and I could see his eyes again. They were wide and scared.

He was really crying.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I love you, Mitsuki," he said. "Don't you see that? Can't you feel it? You are the only thing that matters to me anymore. You are the most dear and precious to me."

I gasped and my heart stopped beating.

The whole world stopped moving.

I let out a chocked sob. "You were really talking about someone else?"

"Yes. Your mother has been helping us with your stepfather, but she started becoming a little less cooperative recently. She found out that you weren't going to Boston with me and decided that you weren't far enough from her sight. I want to take you with me, but by the time I get you a visa, it's going to be time for me to come home anyway. I was concerned that she might throw a wrench into everything, so I needed a backup plan."

I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. "I'm so sorry," I cried.

"I should have told you, but I didn't want you to worry about that. Now that you know, will you please stop pulling away from me?"

"Yes," I said.

He wiped my tears away and kissed me.

I clung to him tightly. I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off of my shoulders. Kyoya said he loved me, and that was enough for me. I didn't care about my mother or whatever her twisted plans were. I only wanted Kyoya. He was all I cared about. It felt like forever since I had felt his warm embrace, and I regretted that he was leaving in three days.

I felt a roll of nausea, and pushed him away so that I could run to the nearest bathroom. I hated how my body handled stress.

Kyoya handed me a cool rag, and felt my face and the back of my neck with his hand.

"How long has your stomach been bothering you?"

"A few days," I said. "This is the first time I actually got sick, though. I think it's just the stress. I don't think my body can handle much more."

He smiled at me and cupped my breasts.

I blushed and slapped his hands away. We weren't exactly alone in the house. "What are you doing? Can't that wait until we get back to your house?"

"We are in our home," he said, laughing at me. "You said that you were hungry. Did you want anything specific?"

I frowned at him. It wasn't like him to randomly change the subject.

"Bacon and eggs. Maybe an omelet. Yumi said there was an American-style diner around here that served breakfast all day. She said that their hamburgers were also really good."

He beamed at me. "Then let's go eat."

I was confused and a little frightened by this new side of Kyoya, but I was really just happy that we weren't fighting anymore. He loved me, and that was all that mattered in the world right now.

When we got to the diner, I ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese omelet, and Kyoya ordered a bacon cheeseburger after I told him that it was what his sister recommended.

"This is really good," I said.

I couldn't believe how hungry I was even after I got sick.

He smiled at me. "I'm really glad to see you with an appetite. How does your stomach feel?"

"Much better," I said.

"I want to stop by the hospital on the way home and have some blood work done on you just in case," he said. "If you are coming down with a virus, it is better to find out as early as possible. I might need to stay a few extra days as well so that I don't take it back to Boston with me. Your immunity might be low from all of the time that you were stuck in the house and in bed."

I nodded. "That is a good idea. You wouldn't want to get your classmates sick. Why are you so happy? You look like you are just bouncing with cheerfulness."

"I am with the woman I love, and she is with me. Is there something wrong with being happy?"

I laughed and shook my head. "No, it's just a little scary coming from you."

"Why does everyone say that?" He asked.

I laughed even harder. So I wasn't the only one frightened by his overly happy side. At least I knew now that if his friends had the same reaction to him, he must be being himself around me.

We finished eating, and Tachibana drove us to the hospital near his house. It was the hospital that Akito was in charge of. Kyoya took me to Akito's office and ordered a full blood test done on me. I sat in the patient room while he went to talk to his brother.

The nurse came in and handed me a cup to pee in as well, and pointed me to the bathroom. I started to get nervous, and wondered if they found something in my blood. Could they possibly have gotten the results back that fast, or did it just look funny?

I put the cup in the sample box and went back to my room, where Kyoya was waiting.

"Hey, did you hear if anything was wrong with my blood work?" I asked.

"No, why?"

"Because now they made me pee in a cup, and I am scared that I really have something."

He smiled. "They are just being thorough."

I sat back down on the examination bed and we waited for Akito to come in.

He entered a little while later with his clipboard.

"Mitsuki, when was your last menstrual cycle?" He asked.

"It was at the beginning of February. I don't really keep track. I have been having some PMS recently, so I am pretty sure I am due again."

He frowned. "You don't keep track of your cycle?"

I shook my head. "No, I didn't think that would be necessary yet."

"Well, it won't be for a while," he said. "You are pregnant."

My mouth fell open in shock. "What? That isn't possible."

I'd only had sex once! Kyoya wore protection, didn't he? I suddenly couldn't remember. I looked at Kyoya in horror, and my fear suddenly turned to rage. Why was he just sitting there looking so smug? He had a grin spread across his face from ear to ear.

I wanted to smack that smug expression off of his face.

"Did no one explain to you how children are conceived?" Akito asked.

I blushed. "Of course they did, but I only had sex once, and I thought he used protection."

"Unfortunately, it only takes one time and it seems that my brother wasn't as responsible as he should have been. Considering recent events and the stress that you have been under recently, I am concerned at your likelihood for miscarriage. I will run a full exam on you today and see how things look, but I wouldn't advise telling anyone until you are out of your first trimester. You should also try to reduce your stress level."

Kyoya's smug expression quickly disappeared. "You think she might lose the baby?"

"It is possible. In the five weeks since she has conceived, she has been beaten almost to death, kicked from her home, disowned, on an antibiotic regimen, and on pain killers. Now she is moving again into a house where she will be alone, and you are going back to Boston. Not to mention the four days she went without eating a bite. This isn't an ideal situation for an expectant mother."

"What can I do?" I asked.

"You can eat right, try to stay off of your feet, don't lift anything, avoid stress, and most importantly, you can follow the diet I am going to give you. Your morning sickness is only going to get worse. I know it will be hard for you to keep food down, but I want you to at least try. You also need to take the vitamins that I am going to prescribe to you. They will help you keep yourself and the baby healthy."

I nodded.

Akito did a full, and rather invasive, exam, and I got to see the baby for the first time. Right now he was just a black dot on the ultrasound, but I knew he would grow into much more. I was given books, a vitamin prescription, and a long list of do's and donts.

"Why are you so damn smug?" I asked Kyoya when we got into the car.

He grinned. "It only took me one attempt to get you pregnant."

"You got me pregnant on purpose?" I asked.

"I honestly thought that it would happen after we were married and I was keeping track of your cycle, but this is even better. It means that when we are ready to have more children, it shouldn't be difficult. Don't worry, we will be married before you even start to show."

I was starting to notice a trend here. Why did it seem like all I had done from the moment I met Kyoya was defend my honor?

Still, it was cute that he was so obviously thrilled at the idea. I would need to do my best to make sure that I didn't lose the baby. Akito said the first trimester was the most dangerous, so for the next two months, I would be extra careful.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Why are you so mad at me?" Kyoya asked.

"You knocked me up and then left," I accused. "I have been sitting at home for two and a half months just vomiting my insides up, and you have been having a good time in America. You have no idea how lucky you are that there is a computer screen between us."

He smiled, and I scowled at him. That was another thing that pissed me off. He didn't even pretend to be sympathetic to my ails.

"Mitsuki, I video chat with you every evening. I know I cannot be there in person, but you should know that I am not out having a good time and partying every night, either. I am home with my beautiful girl and my son or daughter every single night. If it makes you feel better, it breaks my heart that I cannot be there to go to the doctor with you and see our baby grow. I wanted to be with you when you heard the heart beat, and instead I had to hear a recording and not even be able to touch you. This isn't easy for me, either."

I unruffled my feathers. "When are you coming home? Your graduation ceremony was yesterday. I thought you would be leaving right after."

"I know, I'm sorry. I will be home in a few days, I promise."

"The wedding is scheduled for Saturday."

"I will be there by then. I am not going to miss our wedding."

"If you do, I will never forgive you," I said.

He smiled at me. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. I am ready to come home, I just have a few things to take care of here."

"You have four days, Kyoya," I said.

If he missed our wedding day, I was going to kill him. Thankfully, I hadn't had to deal with my mother or her husband a single time since Kyoya left, and I really didn't want to deal with them alone; especially if he didn't show up.

I knew the truth of it was that I just missed him. I hated seeing him on the computer and not being able to touch him. I missed the warmth of his arms around me and the way he whispered sweet words in my ear while he made love to me.

"I love you, Mitsuki," he said. "Please don't worry. I will be home soon."

I started crying and hugged my knees to my chest. "I just miss you so much. I feel like you have been gone forever and that you are never coming back."

"I miss you too," he said quietly. "Please don't cry."

I sniffed and tried to brush my tears away, but it wasn't helping. "I'm gonna go," I said. "I am going with Yumi to get some maternity clothes today. I'm already starting to show a little, and I can only fit in my stretchy pants now."

I was getting near the end of my sixteenth week, and there was a slight baby bump starting to show. My hips were getting wider too. Most of the media outlets were speculating that I was getting fat, but there were a couple that hit the nail on the head and were trying to get a clearer picture of my bump. Kyoya and I had agreed that we wouldn't make the official announcement until after the wedding, but it was already becoming more and more obvious. The warm weather wasn't helping much, either.

Two hours later, I met Yumi at a shopping center.

"I have never been to a commoner's mall before," she gushed.

I laughed. "Really? I love shopping here. They have everything under one roof and the prices are incredible. Maternity clothes are supposed to be disposable anyway, so this is the best place to go."

"I had mine special made," she said. "Do you know what you are having yet?"

"No," I said. "Akito told me last week that he could see the genitals, but I want to wait for Kyoya. He missed hearing the heartbeat, and I think it would be cruel to make him miss finding out the gender."

"Are you leaning towards one or the other?"

"A boy, of course. I know that would make him happy, even though he says that he doesn't care. Men want sons."

"Kyoya isn't like that," she said. "He pretends that he is all about heirs, but he has been insufferable since you got pregnant. He doesn't care if it is a boy or a girl. He might fool you, but he can't fool me."

I grinned at her. "I'm glad that I am not the only person who is getting annoyed by him. I thought it might just be my hormones."

"I have never seen him this happy before," she said. "He has always only cared about impressing our father so much that he missed out on a lot growing up. He relaxed a little after he became friends with Tamaki, but since he met you, he is just a man in love. I am happy to see it. It seems like he is too busy protecting you and worrying about the baby to remember that he is trying to surpass our brothers."

I laughed. "Yeah, he is kind of a mother hen, but I like it. No one has ever cared so much about me before, and it is nice to have him fussing over me. I give him a hard time about it, but it makes me feel good."

She smiled at me. "I'm glad. Have you thought about baby names? It should be a lot of fun coming up with something since your names match."

I frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

"His name means 'shadow star', and yours means 'beautiful moon'. I just thought it would be fun if the two of you came up with a name that meant something else celestial."

"Wow, I never thought of it like that before. I haven't started thinking about names yet. Akito was really worried during my first trimester, so I was scared to even think about it, and then I wanted to wait until Kyoya came home to find out the gender, so it was just the farthest thing from my mind."

"You should start thinking about it. It might take the two of you a while to agree on something."

I nodded. She had a really good point. I might think it would be cute to play with our names, but he might not feel the same way.

We bought enough maternity clothes to get me through my pregnancy. Fuyumi was a really big help with figuring out what I needed and didn't need. The baby was due on November 10th, so I would be suffering my second and the beginning of my third trimesters in the summer heat, but since it would be fall when I was at the end of my pregnancy, we got things that could be layered. Apparently all of the Otori children had been late arrivals, but neither of us were sure if that was a maternal trait or a paternal one.

When we got back to my house, I had a maid wash everything and put them away. Yumi stayed for tea, but then she had to go. Shido was home, so she wanted to spend time with him while she could. I didn't blame her, but I was a little jealous. I wanted Kyoya to come home too.

I spent the rest of the day looking up baby names that I liked, and a few that played with our names as well like Yumi suggested. There was one in particular that I fell in love with, but I wouldn't try to push it on Kyoya if he didn't like it. It was unisex, too, so it wouldn't even matter if we had a boy or a girl.

That night I awoke to soft caresses on my inner thigh. I knew that touch better than I knew my own, but the fear that it was only a dream prevented me from opening my eyes.

"Welcome home," I whispered.

His lips caught mine, and he kissed me softly as he caressed my body. I ran my hands down his back, and opened my eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were coming home?" I asked.

He smiled. "I wasn't planning on coming back this early, but you said that you missed me. I don't like to see you cry."

I kissed him lightly. "I'm afraid that it is a common occurrence around here lately, so you will have to adjust. It's just my hormones."

"Did you have fun with my sister today?"

"Do you really want to talk about that right now?"

"No," he said. "I want a proper welcome."

I giggled. Of course he did.

I pulled him down closer to me, and he situated himself between my legs. His kisses grew more intense, and he moved from my lips to my neck and started working his way down my body. My giggles quickly turned to soft moans of pleasure.

I was draped across his chest trying to catch my breath. He had been exceptionally insatiable this evening, and it was now early morning. I guess I wasn't the only one who missed being together.

He ran his fingers through my hair and smiled at me. "I like that there is a little more of you now."

I blinked at him. "You think I am getting fat?"

His smile vanished. "No! No, I think that my child is growing inside of you and that I was wrong when I thought you couldn't possibly be more beautiful than you already were."

I sighed. "Okay."

"Mitsuki, I think there is nothing more beautiful in the world than you growing big with my child, and in a few more days I get to call you my wife. It is everything that I could possibly want. Please don't ever think that differently."

I put my head on his chest. "Have you thought about names?"

"No, not yet. Why? Have you thought of some?"

I nodded. "Yes, but I know that it is something that we have to agree on, so I promise not to push."

"You have a favorite."

I smiled and gently bit his nipple, making him jump a little. "You know I hate it when you read my mind. It's creepy."

He chuckled. "It isn't my fault that you are so predictable. What is it?"

I looked up at him and gave him my doe eyes. "Sora."

He grinned. "How can I say no to that face? Sky, huh? I like that. It fits both genders, too. I approve. By the way, now that I am home, are you going to tell me if we are having a boy or a girl?"

"I don't know. I wouldn't let Akito tell me until you were there to see for yourself. You missed hearing the heartbeat and I saw how sad that made you. I didn't want to deny you this since it could be put off. Do you really like that name?"

"Yes, I do."

I smiled and rested my head on his chest.

On Friday, Kyoya and I went to Akito's office to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. I knew that he already knew, but I wanted to see it for myself. I had my fingers crossed that it was a boy to make Kyoya happy.

"Do you see it?" Akito asked.

"No," we both said.

Akito pointed between the baby's legs. "It's a girl."

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back.

"Mitsuki, I don't care if it is a boy or a girl. I told you that. I will love her just as much as I would a boy. All I care about is that she is half me and half you, and that she is healthy; and of course that she stays the hell away from Suoh's son. I don't care what he says, we are not going to betroth our children to each other."

I laughed.

Tamaki had been petitioning me since he found out I was pregnant, that if it was a girl, we would betroth her to his and Haruhi's son. I told him that it was Kyoya's decision, but made it clear that I was not for the idea of an arranged marriage.

"Now that we know we are having a daughter, we can start setting up the nursery," he said.

I nodded. "That sounds like fun."

I got cleaned up and dressed, and Akito printed out the pictures for us. I was making an album of baby pictures, starting with the first one. I was going to love this little girl and treat her much better than I was ever treated. I wanted her to know that she was special to me and that I would never allow anyone to hurt her.

Kyoya and I decided that we would announce the gender after the ceremony tomorrow when we made the official public announcement that I was pregnant. So far, the only people who knew were our families and the media outlets that had guessed, though no one had confirmed. It wasn't that we didn't want people to know, but that we were concerned that I might lose the baby. Now that we knew for sure that she was healthy and that everything was on track, we felt safe telling everyone.

"Are you going to be okay tomorrow?" Kyoya asked that night after we went to bed.

I nodded. "Yes, I think so. I'm not really scared of him anymore. I know that he cannot touch me anymore and that if he tries, you will be there. I only have to be around them sometimes, and I feel like I can tolerate that as long as you are holding my hand."

He smiled at me and held me tighter against his chest. "Thank you for trusting me. I know that you would rather have been disowned, but I think that this is for the best for everyone, including our daughter and any future children we have."

A thought occurred to me that I realized I should have asked sooner. "Um, Kyoya, how many children do you want, exactly?"

"I think we can save the answer to that until after the wedding," he said nervously.

I pulled away from him. "What does that mean?"

He smiled at me and pulled me back against his chest. "It means that I think you have given me a bit of a fetish for having you pregnant all the time. You are really cute with a baby bump."

Was he serious?

"Kyoya, answer the question."

"Okay," he laughed. "Four, maybe five. My father had four, so I should probably have five to beat him."

"I think the only real loser in that situation is me," I grumbled.

"You don't want more children?"

"Well, yeah, but only two more at the most. Being pregnant isn't fun, you know."

He rolled me over and pinned my arms above my head. "We should practice it, then. I'm sure you will get better at it eventually."

I smirked. "You do realize that I cannot get pregnant again at the moment."

"Yes, but we can practice getting you this way."

I blushed. "I do like the process quite a bit."

He trailed his nose over my cheek and kissed me gently on the lips. "That's my girl."

The next day, Tachibana and Hotta stayed within eyesight of me all day while I got ready for the ceremony. While Fuyumi and my mother were helping me dress in my kimono, they turned their backs, but stayed in the room.

"Is the obi too tight? We don't want to constrict the baby," Yumi said.

"We should try to make it less obvious that she is pregnant," my mother said, pulling tighter on the obi.

"No, it's fine," I told Yumi. "Mother, everyone knows that I am pregnant, and we are officially announcing it today anyway. It doesn't matter if my bump shows. Everyone will know that I am at least far enough along to know the gender anyway."

Yumi beamed at me and gave me a hug. "You know the gender? That is so exciting! Will you tell me?"

"Sure, you can find out along with everyone else," I said. "Kyoya told me that you might try to persuade me otherwise, so to prevent it, he has threatened to punish me if I tell you."

"Punish you how?" She asked.

I blushed.

He threatened me with no sex for a week, but I wasn't going to tell her that. I think he didn't threaten me with longer because he knew he couldn't do it.

"It's better if you don't know," I said.

She huffed. "I have such a mean brother. I don't know what you see in him."

I smiled at her and started fanning myself. "He isn't so bad. He is sweet, intelligent, ambitious, and above all else, he is honest and always keeps his promises."

"Ah, a woman in love. He is lucky to have someone like you, Mitsuki. You bring out his better nature."

"No, I think I only give him reasons to use his powers for good instead of evil, but if he had to, he would. He is still the Kyoya that I have heard countless stories about," I said, smiling. I was glad that he was a little bit evil. One of us probably should be. "He is kind of sexy when he is plotting something."

How did she think I ended up pregnant in the first place?

She smiled and pinched my cheek. "You are so cute, little sister."

She styled my hair, and we went outside to take pictures.

Kyoya smiled when he saw me. "You look so beautiful."

I blushed. Maybe it was my hormones, but seeing him in a kimono was turning me on.

"So do you," I said.

He pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear, "We will handle that after the ceremony when we change for the reception."

I felt my face heat up, but nodded. I couldn't believe I was that obvious. Was it just his talent for knowing what I was thinking, or was everyone aware of the fact that I was now an insatiable pervert?

We took our pictures, and I tried my best to act normal, but when we were doing family pictures, the photographer had to keep telling me to smile. I was trying my best, but the presence of my stepfather was like a heavy weight on my mind and body. I could sense his every movement, and the closer he was to me, the harder it got.

I thought I could handle this, but I was still afraid of him. I wished that we had just gone to the court house and got married there.

Kyoya took off his glasses and stood next to the photographer and locked our eyes so that I was able to concentrate only on him and I didn't have another problem putting a smile on my face.

I realized then that it didn't matter if I couldn't stand up to my stepfather. I would always have Kyoya there to protect me from him.

The photographer put Kyoya and his family with us, and Kyoya put his arm around me.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

"I'm much better now," I whispered back.

"Then why are you shaking?"

"I'm just ready for this to be over with."

"Mitsuki, stop embarrassing your family and put a smile on your face," my mother said. "If you didn't want to get married, you shouldn't have acted like-"

"Mrs. Koizumi, Mitsuki is carrying our grandchild. Please do not stress her out further than she already is. Weddings are stressful enough without adding to it," Dr. Otori said. "I am sure it is nothing more that her hormones."

"Yes, of course," my mother said. "It's simply her hormones."

Kyoya and I both stared up at his father in surprise. He winked at me, and both of our mouths fell open a little. We looked at each other, and went back to listening to the photographer.

The ceremony itself was rather quick, and I was grateful for that. When it was over, I walked quickly to the room that had my Western-style wedding dress in it so that I could change.

Kyoya followed me into the room, and helped me get my kimono off. When I was naked, he grabbed me by my arms and pinned me against the wall.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He smirked at me. "I told you what I was going to do after the ceremony."

I blushed. I had completely forgotten about that.

He lifted me by my thighs, and I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.

"Try to be quiet, Wife," he growled in my ear.

By some of the looks we received when we came out, I was guessing that I wasn't as quiet as I tried to be.


	7. Epilogue

**AN: This is the end of the story. Thank you so much to everyone who read it, and a bigger thank you to those who reviewed it for me! I hope the ending makes all of you smile as much as it did for me.**

** -Wicked**

**Epilogue**

_**Twenty Years Later**_

"How does Tamaki Suoh always get exactly what he wants without even trying?" Kyoya grumbled. "I should have killed him when I had the chance!"

I covered my smile with my hand and tried my best not to laugh. "Sweetheart, I know you are annoyed, but he helped you to achieve your own dreams. You can let him have this one. You are starting to pout, my love."

He glared at me. "How can you be so calm about this?"

I smiled at him and gently kissed away his frown. "Because I know all to well what if feels like to be young and in love. If Sora wants to marry Kioshi, I am not going to stand in her way. He is a good man and he has a good family."

He held me tightly in his arms. "She is my little girl."

"She will still be your little girl, Kyoya. Now you just have a little boy to go with her."

"I already have five little boys. I don't want another one. I only have one Sora."

I laughed out loud that time. "That is no one's fault but your own."

"That's not true. Takao just kind of slipped in there by mistake. I still think that one was your fault."

I ran my fingers through his hair and kissed him again. "Be happy for your daughter. All she wants is for her daddy to be proud of her and love her no matter what. You said yourself how much being on such good terms with the Suoh family has helped you become your father's successor. Think of this as a merger."

He glared at me again. "I am not going to think about my little angel merging with that boy."

I sighed and shook my head. Last week, 'that boy' was his favorite nephew. It wasn't like he didn't know that they had been dating since their third year of middle school. I knew deep down he just denied himself the reality of the situation, but I didn't think he was this oblivious to the obvious outcome.

"I understand that you are upset, but you have to let her live her own life. We swore to ourselves that we would allow the kids to grow into the people they wanted to be so that they didn't grow up like we did. This is part of it. She chose him a long time ago, and we have to let her follow her heart."

"I know," he groaned and rested his head on my shoulder. "It just seems like yesterday we were changing her diapers and watching her take her first steps. Now she is getting ready to walk down the aisle, and I just feel like it is happening too fast. Can't they wait until after college?"

"They don't want to," I said. "You just need time to get used to the idea that your little girl is growing up, but that doesn't mean that time is going to wait for you." I wrapped my arms and legs around him and kissed his face until he started kissing me back. "You still have me. You told me once that I was your most treasured and your most precious. Has that changed?"

He smiled, and I relaxed. If I could get him to smile, I knew that he would calm down soon.

"Did I only tell you that once? You should scold me more often, Wife. I have been neglectful to you. Please, allow me to make up for that."

He stood up from the couch that we were sitting on and carried me to the bed. He laid me down on my back and gave me his sexy eyes. That still made me feel like a high school girl.

"You are still the most beautiful, wonderful, precious, and treasured in my mind, body and soul. I love you more than anything else in this world, and with you by my side, I feel as though I could take on anything that life throws at me."

"Even your sweet little girl getting married?" I asked.

He smiled. "Even that."

"Then stop neglecting me and make love to me, Husband," I said in my husky voice.

"With pleasure, my love."

More than twenty years had passed since our wedding day, and I still fell more and more in love with him every single day. He was my rock, my sword, my shield, and more importantly than anything else, Kyoya Otori was my savior.

He had set me free, and I would happily be forever in his debt.


End file.
